Business problems and people problems.The two partners discuss if they should continue with the business or give up… It is your task to try to help them in determining what their options are, what they are up against, and what a sui

Tennis Gavà “I’ve had enough, Carlos. I can’t go on like this.” “Don’t worry about it, Jordi.” “What do you mean, don’t worry? If we carry on like this, we’ll be left with only the clothes on our backs. We might even end up in jail!” “Just stop worrying, Jordi, will you?” “On the other hand, if we give up now, we’ll lose the €50,000 we’ve invested. And it would be a pity, because the business makes sense and I think it could work. I don’t understand how we got ourselves into this mess. You’ve been less than honest with me, Carlos, and I’m starting to get fed up.” “Don’t worry, Jordi. Everything’s going to be OK. We just need to tough it out, that’s all.” It was the last week in November and Jordi Casas was talking to Carlos Juncá, his partner in Tennis Gavà, a tennis school and club on the outskirts of Barcelona. The two of them had until December 9 to decide what to do about the business. Jordi remembered how, two years earlier, he had made up his mind to take the plunge and had invited Carlos to join him in starting a sports school. Jordi had worked nonstop ever since, and was annoyed that Carlos showed less commitment and took what Jordi felt were liberties with the cash from the bar. Admittedly, he had “dipped into petty cash” himself on occasion, but Carlos had done it in a way that was unacceptable. 

Jordi was 24 when he decided to set up his own business. Being an excellent tennis player and coming from a humble background, he had the right qualities to work with youngsters, and so had decided to start a professional tennis school for up-and-coming talent. His friend Carlos, also an excellent player, was delighted to join the venture, as he “had to do something.” Having grown up in the “pro” tennis environment of the “Barcelona school,” they both had good contacts and had no difficulty finding their first eight customers, all of them young people aged 15 to 19. Jordi had discovered a semiabandoned tennis club, called Tennis Gavà, close to a freeway only 16 km from Barcelona, with other similar clubs and a large business park nearby. There, for a very reasonable price, they could rent the four courts they needed (one for every two students) to start their classes. They took out a bank loan to finance the purchase of a van and the school was ready to go. Monday through Friday they would pick up their pupils in Barcelona, drive them to the courts, practice for three hours, and then drive them back to Barcelona, where the pupils received specific physical training in a gym. They carried on like this for a year and a half and everything went well. They were able to repay the loan for the van and even generated a small surplus. Jordi and Carlos both turned out to be excellent coaches. They knew how to relate to their young students and soon made a name for themselves in the Barcelona area, as within months their students had started to get themselves noticed locally. Jordi had always had an entrepreneurial bent and wanted to be his own boss. So Carlos was not surprised when Jordi suggested they buy Tennis Gavà, do it up and turn it into a sports club. 

The owner of the club, Serra, promptly poured cold water on their enthusiasm by asking €900,000 for the land and the facilities.